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What was probably wrong with the Hitachi is a bit of crud got disturbed when taking the carb off to do the gaskets and insulator.
When this happens you can rev the engine with no load on it and it will not have enough suck through the jet to pick up the bit of dirt or whatever is in the carb.
But under load it then draws enough extra fuel to be able to suck the bit of dirt etc into the jet,This then blocks the jet instant bog happens and that causes the bit of dirt etc to fall out of the jet because that cuts the vacuum pull that allows the Jet to suck the dirt in,Then sometimes it sucks it straight back into the jet and other times will not do it for days.
It is that constant suck block cut power suck more fuel block again cut power cycle that seems more like riding a mechanical bull than driving a car.

Be aware many Weber carbs often have air corrector jets on the side of the carb exposed to atmosphere especially with those redline style Air Filters,These can block with Dirt and cause issues with running rich and stalling as cutting the air correction out of the mixture circuit can occur if these jets block with dirt,Most factory filter housings drop down to partially cover these jets from errant dirt.

Webers need to be correctly jetted and depending on altitude jetting will vary as it will depending on the type of fuel available in your area,GD and others will have an idea of what works best in general but individual engines often respond to different jetting those carbs are probably a replacement for something like a Mercury Capri or Pinto so asl about jet sizes to suit and specify what fuel you use also.

Out of nowhere the car is really hard to get into reverse. Now, I'm pretty sure there is some sort of lock out mechanism that keeps you from accidentally shifting into reverse while driving, I think it is keeping it completely locked out, and no longer enabling a smooth transition into R.

I can still get into reverse, it just takes a lot more force than normal. I've looked through my part catalogs and my FSM and I couldn't find anything unless I'm blind.

Can somebody help me out? When coming out of reverse, it sounds like there is some kind of spring loaded slider gear that engages, and I'm thinking it might be stuck.

4 speed or 5?
5 speed has a keeper, but that's only engaged with 5th gear.
Have you checked the adjustment on your clutch cable? Reverse is the pickiest of the gears as its not synchronized. It'll sounds awful trying to get it in gear with even a slightly loose clutch cable.
Also, check your gear oil level. That lack of a synchro also makes reverse the first to act up when you get low on gear oil because of the lack of lubrication.

It is a 4 speed. There is definitely something blocking me from getting into reverse. I've driven many stick cars, and I know reverse has no synchro and is sometimes hard to get into, but this is really difficult. There is a lockout keeping me from easily engaging reverse.

It is not the clutch because I can have the clutch out in neutral with the engine running, and when I try to push it into reverse it does not grind or anything so something is keeping it away from the reverse gear. Unless I push it hard enough will it only grind, and with enough force, clunk into reverse and stall out. Figured this out one time and it will never happen again.

There was an import show down here in Bpt. that Subafreak brought his '74 sedan to. Its mostly Asian cars and mostly hispanic folks , but it was pretty cool , just LOUD.

This was their 10th year , which surprised me. Try to remember for next year and we'll get a small team of white boy Subaru folks and get us a corner all to ourselves .... yo ! :-p I get free earplugs from work.

Any mini meets for the rest of the year?

I'll be in NJ this coming weekend but you might want to check out Caffeine and Carbs in New Canaan. Tellin' ya man , one killer meet for big $ boy toys.

It has been becoming increasingly intermittent when attempting to start it.

To sum it up, when I turn the key, nothing happens, no click or anything.

I have dealt with ignition issues in my EFI EJ22E, and I started with the basics. Battery terminals and grounds all check out good. There is no corrosion from the wire going from the positive terminal of the battery to the starter.

I took the steering column apart and tested for continuity to rule out the ignition switch in the lock cylinder. The proper prongs received continuity when I tested them out at all key positions.

Then I finally found the problem. The little single wire that goes into the starter which is what I believe is the starter solenoid is fed 12v when the key is turned to the "start" position. With help from my brother, I tested for 12v going to the little spade connector when he turned the key to "start" and I received 12v very sporadically.

Looking through the starter diagrams in my FSM it states that there is a magnetic switch which closes a battery 12v circuit to the starter solenoid when the key is turned to "start" which engages the starter. Is it possible that this switch is malfunctioning giving me sporadic and intermittent starting issues? Also has anybody every dealt with anything like this, and if you have, where can I find this switch. It just states there is a switch in the schematic, but no specific location of it.

For now, when the starter fails to engage after like 5 minutes of turning the key, I'm just jumping the solenoid prong with 12v to get it going. I am thinking of wiring a push button switch which will just send 12v to the solenoid so I don't look like a moron having to jump my starter motor all the time.

I cannot stress how much I think push button starts are really really really tacky, but I needed to do this to bypass what I believe to be a malfunctioning magnetic switch which is supplying the starter solenoid sporadically when turned to "start".

I'll have to settle with this for now until I resolve the issue. Even though I think this is extremely tacky, it is less humiliating than getting under the hood and physically jumping the starter solenoid.

Check for a bad or loose connection at the short large wire from the positive battery terminal to the fusible link box on the fender. The large female spade connector gets loose over time and will cause exactly that. If that doesn't fix it check for voltage drop between the start terminal of the ignition switch and the positive connection at the solenoid on the starter.

Also ea81's have issues with the cable from the battery to the starter. They are made from aluminum and have big corrosion issues up here in the north east. My brat had all kinds of starting issues before I replaced it with a copper one.

The previous owner said he replaced the clutch with a 1600 FWD clutch using an 1800 pressure plate which is just plain stupid.

I personally don't think he even replaced the clutch, but either way it is slipping and I need a new one especially with winter coming up when I'll need to be using 4WD and the added resistance of the snow won't make a slipping clutch any better.

I have yet been able to feel the full power of this motor without the clutch slipping so it'll be nice to finally be able to truly feel all 90 pounds of torque in the low revs.

I'll find out if the clutch was replaced when I take it out. Have to do this job before it starts getting cold.

I originally attempted to change out the clutch without pulling the motor. All the previous clutches I've done I pulled the motor, so I figured I'd give just sliding the tranny back a try.

Big mistake.

Its a lot easier to drain the coolant, disconnect hoses/electrical crap, unbolt motor mounts, unbolt tranny bolts and yank the thing right out.

Here is the EA81 right after me and my father pulled it.

The old clutch.As you can see, the disk is really dirty on the inside which leads me to believe the clutch is warped and was only grabbing on the outer ring which explains the slippage.

Everything else looked to be in good shape, flywheel looked good. Rear main isn't leaking.

I plan on removing all of the EGR crap on the engine and filling the pipes from the exhaust with some weld. Right now it is just venting to the atmosphere since I have yet to set my crankcase ventilation up.

And now I have two Subaru engines sitting in my garage. EA81 & EG33.

Hopefully I'll have the BRAT back on the road sometime this upcoming week. Miss driving it already even though it makes my Legacy feel like the most luxurious car I've ever driven.

You can just swap the back section of the ignition switch and keep the keys matching as the electrical section is held on as a subassembly with two screws.
That starter solenoid issue is more common to other vehicles than people realsie,I generally use the original wire to switch a heavy duty relay so direct battery power is relay switched to the solenoid then they are much better and more reliable as you take the electrical loaqd away from the ignition switch.

The car will not move, and when I let the clutch out in gear, it does nothing but make a whirring noise. No noise if it is in neutral.

The throwout bearing that came with the kit didn't fit either, so I used the old one, I think they sent me the wrong clutch disk, I think the only correct things in the kit were the pilot bearing and the pressure plate...

I got the Exedy OEM 15008 clutch kit. Was it possible I got the wrong clutch? Pops threw the motor back together one day when I was at work, so I wasn't able to check anything.

Guess I have to pull the ************ing motor again...

Oh yeah, quick video of it running while I was looking for open vacuum lines from removing the EGR. No headers...